“It was a perfect trip today,” said Baze. “He jumped a little bit when we crossed the dirt (at the top of the stretch) but I rode him with a lot of confidence.”

Second, beaten a neck in the Grade III Daytona Stakes down the hill on Dec. 26, Coastline, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred horse by Speightstown, was off at 5-1 in a field of 10 older horses and paid $12.20, $5.20 and $3.80.

“It looked like it was going to be close, but this horse is such a fighter,” said D’Amato. “Once he got his head in there, he just inched away and gave a good performance…I think he’ll go two turns. We’ll take a look, see what’s out there and go from there.”

Owned by Agave Racing Stable and Jaam Racing, Inc., Coastline, who notched his first win from two tries over the course, improved his overall mark to 19-5-3-3. With the winner’s share of $46,800, he increased his earnings to $336,806.

Ridden by Edwin Maldonado, Rocket Heat was off as the 5-2 favorite and paid $3.80 and $3.20.

“That’s his game, you gotta let him roll,” said Maldonado, who, with the temporary inner rail set at 30 feet, opened up by 3 ½ lengths after the first half mile. “I tried to get him to relax without choking him down. The winner went in 12 and change, that’s pretty fast.”